Grading machine



J. W. JOHNSTON GRADING MACHINE Dec. 12, 1933.

Filed Jan. 18, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet l J. W. JOHNSTON GRADING MACHINE Dec.12,1933.

Filed Jan. 18, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 'mechanism for preventing theskiving mecha- Patented Dec. 12, 1933 a l l 1,939,626

l 'umrED; -s;rAriss PATEL-NT OFFICE -GRADING MACHINE James W. Johnston,Manchester, N. H., assignor toNorth American Holding Corporation,Syracuse, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application January 18, 1933.Serial No. 652,317

7 Claims. (01. 69--11) This invention relates to grading machines of thekind which grade died-outpieces'of leather,

such as soles, taps and otherblanksyinaccordance with the thickness .ofthe thinnest spot of the blank, or of a selected area of the :blank;

as determined by the detecting or measuring mechanism. 'The inventionconsists in certain improvements upon-the well-"known grading 'machinesillustrated in .a number of patents to Elmer P. .Nichols and Leander A.Cogswell, of which the Nichols Patent No. 1,130,321 dated March 2,1915and theCogswell Patent No. 1,726,- 610 dated September 3, 1929, aretypical. The present improvements consist principally in nlsm fromgouging the blank and insuring even skiving, and in novel mechanism forcontrolling the opening of :the gate which governs the admission ofblanks into the machine.

In the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 is a side elevation ofa gradingmachine embodying the invention; I

Fig. 2 is a partial section on line 2 2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a sideelevation of thecontrollingand iguiding arm, hereinafter described, forthe abutment and feeding roller of the cutting mechanism; and i Fig. 4is a sectional detail hereinafter described.

It will be understood-that certain parts of the grading machine. whichare wellknown in the art I to even and to mark'thesoles or other blankswhich pass through it and is designed believe the blanks manually fedinto it one at'a time although it will be understood that an automaticfeeding mechanism of well known construction might be used if desiredwithout affecting the construction and-operation ofthe presentinvention.

As each blank is fed into the machine it is slid forwardly one table 10in the direction'of the 'arrowto a pair of continuously driven detectingrolls l1 and 12 by which the thickness of "the thinnest spot of theblank or of a selected area of the blank ismeasured-anddetermined. Uponbeing discharged from between the "detecting rolls 11 and 12 the blankis carried -forward by means of the usual conveyor chain or belt (notshown) and delivered to a pair-of --continuously driven feedingrollers'13 and 14 which, together with a fixed knife blade 15, constitute partof 'the evening and skiving mechanism by which the blank is cut down andevened to a uniform thickness throughout correspon'dingto' thethicknessof the thinnest-spot as determined by the detecting rollsll and 12.

The machine also contains :the .usual stamping or marking mechanismbywhich the grade. mark, usually interms of irons, is appliedto eachblankcorresponding to the measurement of the thin spotof'the blank asdetermined by the detecting rolls 11 and '12. This marking mechanismincludes the usual type-wheel 16 which is rotatably adjusted in responseto the detecting mechanism. The type-wheel 16 is carried by thevertically movable'slide 17; which is automatically operated while theblank is underneath the wheel ,16to force the type-wheel 16 downwardlyagainst the blank and impress or mark thereon the appropriate character.

The marking mechanism is operated to stamp the grade mark upon the blankby the trip :18, which is engaged and actuated by the blank just beforethe, blank enters the trolls 13, 14.

The trip 18 consists of a pair of :arms ,(see

depressionof the trip 18 by the blank, acting through lever-19 and camlatch 20, shifts aclutch 21 (Fig. 2) thereby effecting a single verticalreciprocation of the slide '17, and type-wheel :16.

The eifective measuring operation of the detectingrolls 11, 12, which ispreserved and transmitted to the grading mechanisms (theskivingmechanism and the marking mechanism), begins when the advance end of theblank engages and lifts trip 22, whereupon trip .22 acting throughlever. 23, '-rock shaft 24, am 25 and the weighted push rod 26 causesthe pawl 27 to engage ratchet wheel 28 of the setting,

or transmitting mechanism. This prevents the transmission to the gradingmechanisms of any thicker measurements of the blank encountered by thedetecting rolls, but permits successively thinner measurements to be sotransmitted. The measuring operation by the detecting rolls terminateswhen the rear end of the blank passes out from underneath :the gate 29.The gate29,

which theretofore rested upon and was held up by the blank, then fallsupon the table and acts through link 30 to cause pawl 31 to engageratchet wheel 28, thereby locking ratchet wheel 28 and its associatedtransmitting mechanism against movement also in a direction to registerthinner measurements. The upper detecting roll 11 is supported in fixedjournal boxes. The lower detecting roll 12 is yieldingly supported so asto move downwardly and upwardly in response to variations in thicknessof a blank passing'between the rolls. This motion is transmitted throughthe usual mechanism including apivoted arm 32 having at its extremityasegment engaging a gear on shaft 33 which carries the ratchet wheel 28.When the shaft 33 is thus rotatively adjusted according to the thicknessof the article passing between the detecting rolls 11 and 12 itoperatesthrough the usual mechanism, (not fully shown), to adjust thewedge-carrying slide bar 34 endwise, transversely of the machine head,and thereby correspondingly to adjust the marking wheel 16. A pair ofabutment wedges or inclines 39 fixed to the under side of slide bar 34serve as adjustable abutments or stops to limit the upward movement ofthe feeding and skiving roll 13 and so to regulate the distance betweenthe feeding roll 13 and the knife 15 in accordance with the grademeasurement of the blank as determined by the detecting rolls 11, 12.The shaft 35 of the upper roll 13 is mounted at its ends in journalboxes 36 and 37 (Fig. 2) which slide in vertical ways provided on themachine frame. Each journal box is provided as usual upon its top sidewith a wedge or incline 38, which cooperates with one of thecomplementary abutment wedges or stops 39 provided on the slide bar 34.As each blank passes between the feed rolls 13 and 14 the upper roll islifted by the blank until it is arrested by the engagement of saidabutment wedges. This determines the spacing between the roll 13 and theedge of knife 15. The lower roll 14 is yieldingly supported by stiil'springs and may be pressed downwardly by the blanks after the upper roll13 has been lifted to the limit of its movement permitted by theabutment wedges, with the result that the-knife blade 15 will shave orskive down the bottom side of each blank in whole or in part as itpasses between the rolls 13, 14, to the thickness of the spacing betweenthe upper rolls 13 and the edge of knife 15, which corresponds to thegrade measurement of the blank as determined by the detecting rolls 11,12. The shaft 35 of the upper roll 13 is provided at one endwith a gear40, and gear 40 is driven by a gear 41, which in turn is driven by agear'42 fast on the main drive shaft 43 of the machine.

The parts thus far described are of usual construction and operation,well-known in machines of this character, and therefore need not be morefully shown or described.

By reason of the weight of the gear 40, or of the position of a blankpassing between the rollers 13, 14, off center, particularly when theblank is nearer the end of the rollers remote from the gear 40, or both,the knife blade 15 instead of cutting the blank evenly and truly hassometimes heretofore tended to gouge or hog into thematerial of theblank near one side thereof. This was due to the fact that the upperroll 13 was not always maintained in true parallelism to the knifeblade. The upper roll 13 being freely movable to a limited extent in avertical direction tends at times to tilt out of parallelism because ofthe overweighted end of the shaft 35'by the gear 40, or the position ofthe blank somewhat out of center between the rolls, or of a condition oflooseness of fit between the journal boxes 36 and 37 and theirguideways, whether intentionally provided to permit freedom of movementor occasioned through wear.

An important object of the presentinvention is to prevent thisobjectionable gouging by providing means to maintain the abutment roll13 parallel to the knife in all positions of the roll. To this end Iprovide a crossbar or rod 44 having its ends rotatably mounted withinsockets pro vided on the inner or opposed faces of the journal boxes 36and 37. The rod 44 is engaged by the bifurcated or forked ends of twoguiding arms of a yoke 45, which is fixed to a horizontal spindle orshaft 46 parallel to the knife edge and mounted to rock in a bearing 47fixed to the frame of the machine; The rod 44'is formed with flattenedareas on its opposite sides as shown at 48, 48, (Figs. 3 and 4) toprovide flat engaging surfaces for the forked ends of the arms of yoke45.

It will thus be apparent that the pivotally supported, yoke with itsslotted-end arms constitutes a roll controlling and guiding member whichpermits the upper feeding and abutment roll 13 to move freely toward andfrom the knife blade 15 yet at all. times maintains the axis of saidroll parallel with the cutting edge of the knife blade 15. This preventsthe gouging of the blank above referred to and ensures even skiving.

Another feature of the present invention consists in novel mechanism foropening the gate 29, controlled by said roll controlling member 45. Uponthe outer end of the spindle 46 is fixed an arm or lever 49, the freeend of which cooperates with the free end of a lever 50 pivotallymounted at 51 on the frame of the machine. The lever 50 has pivotallyconnected to it between its ends one end of a link 52, whose oppositeend is pivoted at 53 to the upper end of lever 19, which constitutespart of the usual stamp operating mechanism. .Connected to the samepivot 53 is a link 54 whose opposite end is pivotally connected at 55 toone arm of a bell-crank lever 56. The lever 56 is fulcrumed to themachine frame at 57. The same arm of bell-crank lever 56also hasconnected to it one end of a pull spring 5'7 whose opposite end isfastened to the frame of the machine. The other arm of bell-crank lever56 is formed with a slot 58 engaging a pin or stud 59 which projectsfrom the side of the gate controlling latch 110 60. The lower end oflatch 60 is formed with a longitudinal slot 61 which rides on a stud 62projecting from the machine frame. A spring 63 normally urges latch 60toward the right against a lug 64 projecting from the end of a lever 65ful- 115 orumed at 66 on the machine frame. Normally the upper end oflatch 60 supports the gate 29 in elevated or open position by engagingunderneath the arm 67 fixed to the end of the gate spindle 68. The lever65 extends beyond its fulcrum 66 120 and engages the top side of arm 25through an adjustable abutment screw 68. When the trip 22 is raised by ablank passing underneath, it acts through arm 23,- rockshaft 24 and arm25 to swing the lever 65 on itsfulcrum thereby swinging 125 the lug 64toward the left, as viewed in Fig. 1, so as to kick the upper end oflatch 60 out from under the gate arm- 6'7, whereupon the gate 29 fallsand rests on top of the passing blank. The drop of thegate may beassisted, if desired, by the 130 usual spring 69 acting through link 30.a

As the blank advances through the machine its forward end engages anddepresses the trip 18 before the rear end of the blank clears the trip22. The depression of the trip 18 acts 5 through its rock shaft 70 andcam arm 71 to swing the lever 19 toward the right, Fig. 1, on its pivot72. This movement of the lever 19 acts both to operate the stamp ormarker, as already described, and also to shift the link 54 toward 140the right, thereby swinging bell-crank lever 56 also to the right anddepressing the latch 60 until the upper end of the latch clears the endof gate arm 6'7 so that spring 63 shifts the upper end of latch 60 intoposition beneath the lowered 1 5 arm 67. At the same time the upper endof lever 50 is also swung to the right by link 52 which is attached-tolever 19. The upper end of lever 50 is provided with a lug '72 whichnormally occupics at position immediately above the free end of 150 arm49. When lever 50 is swung to the right by the depression of trip 18 thelug 72 is shifted out of position above the end of arm 49 so that thelatter is free to move upward in front of the lug 72. Upon the furtheradvance of the blank, after depressing trip 18, the forward end of theblank enters between the feeding and skiving rolls 13 and 14, therebylifting the upper or abutment roll 13 until it is stopped by the wedgeblocks 38, 39. When thus lifted the abutment roll 13 acts through itsjournal boxes 36, 37, crossbar or rod 48, yoke 45 and spindle 46 toswing the arm 49 upwardly until its free end stands in front of anddirectly in the path of lug 72 of lever 50. Consequently so long as theabutment roll 13 is held elevated by a blank the lever 50 is locked byarm 49 at the limit of its movement toward the right and the spring 57*-is prevented from operating through bell-crank 56 and latch 60 to openthe gate 29. Upon the discharge of the blank from between the rolls 13and 14 the abutment roll 13 falls by gravity until its journal boxes 36,37 rest upon the journal boxes of the lower feed roll 14. This downwardmovement of the roll 13 acts through yoke 45 and spindle 46 to swing arm49 downwardly out of the path of lug '72, whereupon the gate openingmechanism is unlocked and spring 5'7 raises the latch 60, opens the gateand restores the parts to their normal position ready to admit anotherblank as shown in Fig. 1. The action of spring 5'7 may be supplementedif desired by the usual spring 73 which acts upon lever 19. Thus it willbe seen that from the time the advance end of the blank engages andraises the trip 22 until the rear or trailing end of the blank passesout from between the skiving rolls 13 and 14 the gate 29 is preventedfrom being opened. The trip 22 shifts the latch 60 out from under thegate lifting arm 67, and before the blank passes out from under trip 22the advance end of the blank operates trip 18, which lowers the latch 60into position under the arm 67 but does not yet lift it, and before theblank leaves trip 18 its advance end enters between rolls 13 and 14,thereby locking the latch 60 through the locking arm 49 and lever 50until the blank passes clear of the rolls 13 and 14.

I claim:

1. A machine of the character described comprising a knife, an abutmentroll freely movable toward and from the knife, a stop to limit themovement of the abutment roll away from the knife by a blank beingoperated upon, and means to maintain the abutment roll parallel to theknife in all positions of the roll.

2. A machine of the character described comprising a knife, an abutmentroll freely movable toward and from the knife, a stop to limit themovement of the abutment roll away from the knife by a blank beingoperated upon, and rollcontrolling mechanism having guiding membersconnected to and movable with the abutment roll for governing therelation of the roll to the knife in all positions of the roll andhaving connection to the machine frame adapted to maintain the abutmentroll parallel to the knife in all positions of the roll.

3. A machine of the character described com prising a knife, an abutmentroll freely movable toward and from the knife, a stop to limitthemovement of the abutment roll away from the knife by a blank beingoperated upon, and a roll-controlling member pivoted at one end to themachine frame on an axis parallel to the knife and having guidingmembers at its other end connected to and movable with the abutment rollto maintain the abutment roll parallel to the knife in all positions ofthe roll.

4. A machine of the character described comprising a knife, an abutmentroll freely movable toward and from the knife, a stop to limit themovement of the abutment roll away from the knife by a blank beingoperated upon, journal boxes on which said roll is journaled, a rodparallel to the roll connecting said journal boxes, and aroll-controlling member pivoted at one end to the machine frame on anaxis parallel to the knife and having guiding arms provided with slotsengaging said rod to maintain the abutment roll parallel to the knife inall positions of the roll.

5. A machine of the character described comprising a knife, an abutmentroll freely movable toward and from the knife, an adjustable stop tolimit the movement of the abutment roll away from the knife by a blankbeing operated upon, detecting mechanism for detecting the thicknessgrades of blanks passing therethrough, setting mechanism for adjustingthe stop in ac cordance with the thickness grades as determined by thedetecting mechanism, a gate in advance of the detecting mechanism forcontrolling the admission of blanks thereto, a rollcontrolling memberfor -maintaining the abutment roll parallel to the knife in allpositions of the roll, and mechanism controlled by said roll-controllingmember to open said gate.

6. A machine of the character described comprising a knife, an abutmentroll freely movable toward and from the knife, an adjustable stop tolimit the movement of the abutment roll away from the knife by a blankbeing operated upon, detecting mechanism for detecting the thicknessgrades of blanks passing therethrough, setting mechanism for adjustingthe stop in accordance with the thickness grades as determined by thedetecting mechanism, a gate in advance of the detecting mechanism forcontrolling the admission of blanks thereto, a roll-controllingmemberfor maintaining the abutment roll parallel to the knife in allpositiom of the roll, a shaft to which said roll-controlling member isfixed journaled on the machine frame, a locking lever fixed to saidshaft and mechanism controlled by said lever to open the gate.

7. A machine of the character described, comprising detecting mechanisnifor determining the thickness grades of successive blanks fedtherethrough, adjustable skiving mechanism responsive to the detectingmechanism including a pair of rollers one of which is movable toward andfromthe other, an adjustable marker responsive to the detectingmechanism, a gate in advance of the detecting mechanism, a latch forcontrolling the gate normally holding the gate in elevated or openposition, a trip in the path of the blanks to withdraw the latch andpermit the gate to fall, a second trip in the path of the blanks both tooperate the marker and at the same time to shift the latch into positionpreparatory to opening the gate, and a member operated by the movableroller to lock the latch in its last named position so long as a blankis between said rollers and then to permit the latch to'open the gate.

JAMES W. JOHNSTON.

